Building to Teach

Now you’re getting a picture of what it takes to start a community program. Before you cut a piece of wood and get a group of kids and adults pumped up, do everybody a favor and take a “gut check.” Do you really want to do this? You won’t make any money. It’s an emotional [...]

You’ve gotten your team together to build a boat with kids. What are your goals? What do the kids walk away with? What do you walk away with? What rewards do the people who helped you get? What happens to the boat? What has building the boat done to further the program? Your goals should [...]

After you’ve identified the need, you have to find people to work with. You can’t do this type of project alone, you’ll become isolated, you’ll burn out and the work won’t be sustainable over the long run. So who do you work with? The answer is simple to say but hard to do. You work [...]

If you’re reading a WoodenBoat publication, you’ve probably been bitten by the “wooden boat bug.” The experience of building something beautiful and then using it in cooperation with nature is something that appeals to you. Ben Fuller in a letter to the editor of WoodenBoat listed some of the skills we learn from small boats, [...]